The removal of plaque and entrapped food particle from the crevices between mammalian teeth helps prevent cavities, gingivitis, and other dental and mouth disorders. Conventional brushing is not particularly effective in removing food particles and other material from between teeth. Thus, dental floss, filaments, tapes, and similar items have been used to remove trapped material.
Conventional dental floss includes multiple filaments or strands of a deformable or nondeformable material which is threaded or otherwise inserted between teeth. The dental floss is moved along the surface of the teeth dislodging entrapped food particles and cleaning away other material.
In recent years there has been an increased demand for stronger, more durable, and more comfortable dental floss. There has also been a demand for flavored, scented, and colored dental floss. While conventional dental floss is relatively effective for cleaning teeth, it is not completely satisfactory. As shown in FIGS. 1-3, multifilament dental floss tends to fray and its individual strands tend to separate. Such fraying and separation causes the dental floss to get caught between teeth. Further, if modification to lubricity or flavor are desired, the floss must be coated. Such coatings are generally removed, at least in part, as the floss is moved between teeth. Thus, the effectiveness of the coatings is limited. With respect to coloring, conventional multistrand dental floss is limited to twisted patterns like a barber pole.
As noted above, dental floss is typically made from multiple strands of material. Generally, these strands have a circularly-shaped cross section and are used to create a dental floss which also has a circularly-shaped cross section. It has been theorized that dental floss of other cross-sectional shapes might offer users more comfort and ease of use, but it has heretofore been relatively difficult to manufacture dental floss having a variety of desired shapes.
There have been some attempts to produce a monofilament dental floss. One such monofilament dental floss is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,932, issued to Blass. Blass discloses a dental floss including a monofilament ribbon of uniaxially stretched PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) having a coating of wax. The wax coating stiffens the PTFE ribbon and increases its frictional qualities. The ribbon has a thickness in the range of 0.5 to 4 mm and a thickness in the range of 20 to 60 um.
Flavoring a monofilament dental floss made from PTFE is virtually impossible. PTFE is extruded at relatively high temperatures which would cause any added flavoring to burn away during extrusion. Flavoring such dental floss via a coating such as wax is possible, but such coatings separate easily from the PTFE material. Scenting PTFE dental floss is equally difficult because PTFE, being chemically inert, will not interact with known fragrances to create a useful, aromatic end product.
Accordingly, there is a need for a strong, supple, and comfortable single-strand, dental floss which can be readily colored, scented, or flavored.